1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to integrated telecommunication systems and, more particularly, to a system and method for providing enhanced user-service interaction capability in an integrated telecommunications network. The exemplary integrated telecommunications network may comprise a packet-switched network (PSN) coupled to a circuit-switched network (CSN). Also, the network may comprise a PSN portion only. For example, a network portion using the Internet Protocol (IP) may comprise such a PSN portion. Furthermore, for instance, the CSN portion may comprise a wireless telephony network portion having a service architecture that is derived from, or based upon, the Intelligent Network (IN) service architecture.
2. Description of Related Art
Coupled with the phenomenal growth in popularity of the Internet, there has been a tremendous interest in using packet-switched network (PSN) infrastructures (e.g., those based on IP addressing) as a replacement for, or as an adjunct to, the existing circuit-switched network (CSN) infrastructures used in today""s telephony. From the network operators"" perspective, the inherent traffic aggregation in packet-switched infrastructures allows for a reduction in the cost of transmission and the infrastructure cost per end-user. Ultimately, such cost reductions enable the network operators to pass on the concomitant cost savings to the end-users.
Some of the market drivers that impel the existing Voice-over-IP (VoIP) technology are: improvements in the quality of IP telephony; the Internet phenomenon; emergence of standards; cost-effective price-points for advanced services via media-rich call management, et cetera. Some of the emerging standards in this area are the well known H.323 protocol, developed by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) or Internet Protocol Device Control (IPDC) by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), or Simple/Media Gateway Control Protocol (SGCP or MGCP). Using these IP standards, devices such as personal computers can interoperate seamlessly in a vast inter-network, sharing a mixture of audio, video, and data across all forms of packet-based networks which may interface with circuit-switched network portions.
Because of the availability of interoperable coupling mechanisms between the PSN and CSN portions, it is now feasible to implement an integrated VoIP telecommunications network wherein advanced services, commonly referred to as Value-Added Services (VAS), may be provisioned using the well known Intelligent Network (IN) service architecture. Those skilled in the art should readily realize that there exist tremendous incentives, economic as well as infrastructure-based, for utilizing the existing IN or IN-based service architecture with respect to the provisioning of VAS within the IP telephony framework.
As is well known, certain services provided in the context of the IN architecture may require an interaction with the user/subscriber. In current CSN implementations, a Service Resource Function (SRF) is typically embodied as an Intelligent Peripheral and the user-service interaction is effectuated via the Intelligent Peripheral which involves, for example, interactive voice responses, keypad inputs, et cetera, from the user. Services requiring such interactions are performed through a Service Control Point (SCP) which instructs an appropriate switching node serving the user (e.g., a Mobile Switching Center (MSC)) to establish a connection between the user""s device (e.g., a telephone) and the Intelligent Peripheral, whereupon the user-service interactions are subsequently carried out.
It should be appreciated upon reference hereto that the emergence of VoIP networks and devices such as, e.g., Smart IP phones, Internet phones, Information Appliances, et cetera, renders the above-mentioned user-service interaction methodology not only inappropriate but also exceedingly limited. Furthermore, the network-centric approach of the IN architecture may be challenged by the burgeoning IP-based alternatives for service provisioning.
Based upon the foregoing, it should be apparent that there is a need for a more robust user-service interaction scheme within the framework of IP telephony which allows enhanced mechanisms therefor while still leveraging the existing IN service architecture. The present invention advantageously provides such a solution.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed, in one aspect, to a method of providing enhanced user-service interactivity between a user and a service within a telecommunications network that supports IN or IN-based service architectures. The network comprises a switching node that embodies Call Control Functionality and Service Switching Functionality, a service logic node preferably implemented as a Service Control Point (SCP), and an Intelligent Peripheral providing Service Resource Functionality with respect to invoked services. An Internet Protocol (IP)-based terminal/appliance is available for the user to interact with the telecommunications network. The method of the present invention commences with receiving a call in the switching node with respect to the user. A service trigger, associated with the service to which the user has a subscription, is thereafter transmitted by the switching node to the service logic node via a suitable service message. Upon determining that an interaction between the user and the Intelligent Peripheral is to be effectuated, the service logic node forwards an instruction to the switching node including an IP-compliant address of the Intelligent Peripheral. In a presently preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) associated with the Intelligent Peripheral is provided as its IP-compliant address.
The IP-compliant address of the Intelligent Peripheral is subsequently forwarded to the terminal by the switching node. By engaging in local processing on the terminal, the user establishes a session between the terminal and the Intelligent Peripheral using the IP-compliant address of the Intelligent Peripheral. Subsequently, the user may interact with the Intelligent Peripheral based on the service invoked in the service logic node. Preferably, such interactions include World Wide Web (WWW or the xe2x80x9cWebxe2x80x9d) mechanisms such as, e.g., those involving Java inputs in multimedia sessions, etc.
In another aspect, the present invention is directed to an integrated telecommunications network that allows enhanced user-service interactivity between a user and a service to which the user has a subscription, the user operating an IP-compliant terminal/appliance disposed in an IP-based PSN portion. Preferably, the telecommunications network supports an IN-based service architecture and includes a switching node that governs call setup, call control, and service access and switching with respect to the user. An SCP node is included for providing VAS to the user. The SCP node includes a logic portion for determining whether an interaction between the user and an Intelligent Peripheral is to be effectuated when a service is invoked and when an appropriate service trigger is transmitted from the switching node. Also included in the SCP is a logic portion for generating an instruction to the switching node including a URL of the Intelligent Peripheral. The terminal includes appropriate processor means for local processing that allows accessing of the Intelligent Peripheral using the URL received from the switching node. The user may then interact with the service via the Intelligent Peripheral using known Web-based mechanisms, depending on the particular service invoked.